Should They Be Called "Online Degrees?"

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Maniac Craniac, Aug 26, 2010.

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Should They Be Called "Online Degrees?"

  1. Yes!

    5.9%
  2. No!

    68.6%
  3. Not sure.

    9.8%
  4. Who cares?

    15.7%
  1. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    That certainly can be the case. Many "online" students are really "hybrid" stduents. At my institution, between 1/4-1/3 of students enrolled in online courses take them exclusively--the majority take a combination of online and face-to-face courses.
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Yesh!!!!!!
     
  3. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    I understand the spirit of the message here. But, having had the pleasure of working for Capella University for several years, and spending a great deal of time amongst the faculty and administration in Minneapolis, I can assure that the institution is very much not 'online". What is online is the instructional design and the communications medium. But the institution lives and breathes and thrives with real people, in physical offices, having face to face meetings, and normal face to face organizational issues, challenges, and activities. It is a vibrant academic institution, with hundreds of staff, faculty, and administrators working together right there in good old Minneapolis.

    Sure, the delivery method is online. And, yes there are not on campus classes. But there is a very real existence in a fixed time and space. The body of institution is far from virtual. Take a tour of the "campus" and it would become apparent.

    Some would say it is semantics, but I very much disagree. The delivery model is online. The students, faculty, administrators, staff, and offices that make up the institution are anything but "virtual".

    To the point of the original post, there are no “online” degrees, there are only degree programs that have an online instructional design component.
     
  4. fringedgentian

    fringedgentian New Member

    > To the point of the original post, there are no “online” degrees, there are only degree programs that have an online instructional design component.

    Yes, exactly.

    Also, the vast majority of the public who has not much idea about colleges and accreditation sees an "online degree" as being synonymous with "unaccredited degree," which is not the case at all. And so, anything called by the name "online degree" has an inaccurate stigma associated with it in the work world.

    These are just degree programs, the same as any other degree programs. Some are accredited, some aren't, some are good, some aren't, and if you really want to know which are which you will have to put in the effort and check.
     
  5. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    I wonder if anybody has collected data on that issue.
     
  6. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Well said. It is insight like this that is convincing me to stop using the term "online degree".
     
  7. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    That might make an interesting topic for a research paper. Maybe a dissertation...hmmmm.
     
  8. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    It could certainly be a descriptive study of some kind, probably not important enough for doctoral work though...
     

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